Update on the Elvig case

Published April 5, 2013 at 10:39 am

When the March 29 story on former Anoka businessman David Elvig criminal trial was written, a major piece of information was missed.
David Elvig

The story said Elvig was charged with 56 felony counts of theft by swindle, theft by take/use or transfer of moveable property and theft by indifference to owner rights plus 30 gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor counts.

But there were actually 54 charges and those charges were reduced to two aggregated felony counts of theft by swindle of over $5,000 in an amended complaint signed by Prosecutor Susan Crumb, an assistant Hennepin County Attorney, Jan. 31.

She is handling the case at the request of the Anoka County Attorney’s Office; Elvig is a Ramsey City Council member.

After taking over the case, which had originally been handled by the Isanti County Attorney’s Office, Crumb said she had examined the case and decided amend the charges.

“I feel this is a more accurate reflection of the criminal behavior and more in line with Minnesota law,” she said.

Elvig’s criminal trial was scheduled to begin in Anoka County District Court March 25 with Judge Spencer J. Sokolowski preceding, but was rescheduled for April 15 after Crumb’s office received additional evidence.

According to Crumb, her office was given the evidence the afternoon of March 22 while preparing a witness for testimony in the case against Elvig, 18026 Ute St.

This is the third continuance for the trial.

A September 2011 complaint, which was handled by the Isanti County Attorney’s Office, charged Elvig, the owner of E-Street Makers, with embezzling $19,596.83 from his employees’ 401(k) profit sharing, group health and dental plans, from April 23, 2009 to Jan. 14, 2010.

The 14-year-old E-Street Makers, 731 Lund Blvd., went out of business in December 2009. The business assets were foreclosed in March 2011.

The EBSA investigators allege Elvig kept the contributions in E-Street’s general operating account and used it to pay business expenses, such as payroll, instead of applying it to the three employee plans for up to 15 employees.

Because the funds were not transferred to the plans, the health plan was terminated July 30, 2009, retroactive effective to May 31, 2009, according to the complaint.

Investigators also found E-Street’s dental plan was terminated effective March 1, 2009.

In addition to losing earnings on their 401(k) plans, employees with 401(k) loans defaulted on their repayments as a result of the money not being transferred to the plan and they were subject to costly penalties and taxes, the complaint alleges.

Elvig was originally charged Sept. 8, 2011 in Anoka County District Court with two felony counts of theft by swindle and theft by take/use/transfer of moveable property.